A new technology for removing mercury from coal by mild thermal coal treatment using a rotary kiln is presented. Experiments performed at the large laboratory scale show that 93% of the mercury is removed; moreover, the thermal properties of the fuel obtained from the process are also improved. In this article, we describe the physicochemical characteristics of the fuel under the test conditions and the properties of the products obtained during the removal process. The experiments were performed in an appropriately modified test system, and the net mass and energy losses do not exceed 5%, An economic analysis indicates that the proposed technology is cost-competitive with existing methods for removing mercury from flue gases after combustion. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.